LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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ERRIES 



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BLOSSOMS 



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BY MARTHA LAVINIA HOFFMAN. 



OAKLAND, CAL. 
Pacific Press Publishing Compan-y 




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1888, by 

MARTHA I^. HOFFMAN, 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C, 



PllNSY FlICES. 



O, the fuiiin- pansy faces, 

With their odd and wise grimaces, 

With their eyes so wide and staring, 

And their cunning, witching ways; 
O, the pretty pansy faces, 
With their royal hues and graces; 
Peeping from their shady places, 

Through the spring and summer days. 



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O, the roguish pansy faces, 
And the thoughtful pansy faces, 
And the haughty pansy faces, 

What a mingled company ! 
O, the purple pansy faces, 
And the golden pansy faces. 
And the snowy pansy faces, 

What a mottled crowd are they ! 



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How I love the pansy faces, 
Smiling from their shady places; 
How I love each quaint expression 

And each sprightly attitude; 
Ever lively, glad, and cheerful, 
Never gloomy, sad or fearful, 
With their merry little faces 

Full of love and gratitude. 



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O, the jolly pansy faces, 

Looking from their brimming vases, 

Or, from out their shady places, 

Nodding to the butterflies. 
Pans}' faces shy and saucy, 
Pansy faces gay and glossy. 
Captivating ever}' passer, 

By the magic of their eyes. 



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Lily of the Nile. 



Queenly lily, fair and fragrant, 

I have watched thy charms unroll 
Till thy gold embossed scepter 

Gleams against thy spotless scroll. 
Stately Ethiopian princess, 

From thy realm a fair exile, 
\'ieing with the rose in sweetness. 
Queenly lily of the Nile. 



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Lovely in thy child-like beauty, 

Yet majestic in thy pride; 
Could" st thou be more sweetly gracious 
Nodding b}- the river side ? 

Breath like zephyrs freshly laden 

From some flower-wreathed ocean isle; 
Snow-white Ethiopian maiden, 
Modest lilv of the Nile. 



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Dost thou feel no pang of longing, 
Dost thon breathe no wear}' sigh 
For thy native, orient splendor— 
For th}' native, sunlit sky ? 

Far awa}-, thou know'st not whither, 

Many, many a weary mile, 
Thy fair sisters bloom and wither, 
Statelv lilv of the Nile. 



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Bloom beneath the pahii tree's shadow, 

Just along the river's brink, 
Where gay birds, with brilliant plumage, 
Soar to sing, and stoop to drink. 

Plucked by Eg3'pt's dark-eyed daughters 

To adorn some granite pile — 
Fresher from their native waters, 
vSnowy lily of the Nile. 



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'Midst those scenes of eastern splendor 

Th}' ancestral race began — 
Where the night of heathen darkness 
Spread abroad its withering ban. 

Yet no spot of man's transgressing 

Conld thy purity defile, 
Looking heavenward for each blessing 
Saintly hly of the Nile. 



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Did they view thy purer glory 

With their darkened minds unawed? 
Did they learn of thee no lesson 
Of the power and love of God ? 

lyike a spotless, white- winged angel 
Sent to them untouched by guile, 
Did they spurn thy glad evangel, 
Spotless lily of the Nile ? 



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O, could they have looked from Nature 

Unto Nature's God alone, 
Would the}^ not have scorned to worship 
Images of wood and stone ? 

Would they not, thy beauty seeing. 
Have looked up in faith erewhile 
To the God who gave thee being. 
Matchless lily of the Nile? 



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Berries. 



Berries! berries! beautiful berries! 

Wearing a charm ever pleasing and new ; 
Daintiest food, fit for elfins and fairies, 

Born of the sunshine, the breeze, and the dew 



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Drooping in delicate sprays of repleteness; 

Nestling in green leaves, half hidden from sight; 
Hanging in rich, jnicy globules of sweetness; 

Peeping up sh^-ly to drink in the light. 



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Perched on a twig is a saucy, red linnet; 

Beak dyed with carmine, betraying his theft; 
While birds of all colors, each sunshiny minute, 

Feast on the bounties his majesty left. 



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I^azuli finches and golden canaries, 
Hither and thither in ecstasy fly, 

Warbling, in unison, "Berries! ripe berries!" 
What ruby wine with their nectar can vie ! 



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Laughing-eyed children, with Hps dyed vermilHon, 

And finger-tips stained, the sweet secret have guessed; 

And hone3^-bees, joining the merry cotilhon, 
Meet with the birds at their lavish repast. 



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Berries! berries! bright, luscious berries! 

Ripening and melting the long summer through; 
No sheaf-laden Ceres such tempting spoil carries; 

Born of the sunshine, the breeze, and the dew. 



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